Speak Now, Ryou!
by White Tiger - Black Kitten
Summary: Songfic. Bakura's about to marry Malik, but not if Ryou has anything to say about it! fem!Ryou, GEnderbending, and Tendershipping with others.


Sissy: I absolutely adore this song. I'm not really sure if I gave it justice by using it in this fic…

Ali: Oh, will you stop it! You did an excellent job and you should be proud you _finished_ it!

Sissy: I…guess your right…did you just compliment me?

Ali: O/O …N-No! I absolutely did not compliment you because I'm secretly proud of you! Nope, not at all!

Sissy: …Whatever. *clears throat* I have not, do not, and will never, ever own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its characters. They are all the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi.

_I am not the kind of girl  
Who should be rudely barging on a white veil occasion  
But you are not the kind of boy  
Who should be marrying the wrong girl_

A white-haired young woman was standing at the back door of a massive, white church. Who was this woman? Her name was Ryou Bakura. Why was she doing this? Well, because she had something she _needed _to tell the groom of the wedding that would be happening soon; the wedding between the man she loved and his girlfriend.

She'd tried the front door, but some men were guarding it. So she was forced to sneak in.

All she had to do was pick the lock to gain entry. Yes, she was sneaking into Bakura and Malika's (1) wedding just to ruin it.

"Come on, Ryou, you can do it." Ryou muttered to herself. "Who cares if you completely embarrass yourself or you get arrested. …I'm not helping myself." She shook her head; now wasn't the time. She pulled a bobby pin out of her pocket and slid it into the lock. "Now, I just hope it actually works…aha! There!"

The door opened and Ryou slipped in. No turning back now…

_I sneak in and see your friends and her snotty little family  
All dressed in pastel  
And she is yelling at a bridesmaid, somewhere back inside a room  
Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry_

Creeping through the corridor, Ryou heard the murmur of voices and found herself looking at quite the gathering. She scurried behind a wide, marble pillar. Chocolate eyes scanned the crowd. There were mostly people she recognized. Her best friend Yugi and her fiancé Yami, Joey and her boyfriend Kaiba (though why the couple was attending was beyond anyone), Mokuba, Mai, Tea, Shadi, Mana, Kisara, Malika's older siblings Ishizu and Odion, and…

_Marik? Just what is he doing here? _the hiding woman thought. _Oh, wait, he's Bakura's best friend. Duh, Ryou!_

Suddenly, a shout sounded from the back room.

"Jeez! You can't do _anything_ right!"

Ryou silently gasped; she didn't know her old best friend could be so harsh. She glanced at the crowd again. No one seemed to have heard. Then, a funny mental picture popped up: Malika wearing one of those puffy white dresses that they had giggled over when they were little. Malika had said it looked like a cupcake with extra frosting. The memory made Ryou smile. Why couldn't things still be like that? The smile faded. Oh, right, they _both_ had to fall for Bakura.

_This is surely not what you thought it would be  
I lose myself in a daydream where I stand and say_

_Don't say yes, run away now  
I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the backdoor  
Don't wait or say a single vow  
You need to hear me out and they said 'Speak now'_

From her hiding spot behind the pillar, Ryou saw Bakura sigh. Did he even _want_ this marriage? He had seemed genuinely in love with Malika…

_But_ I'm _genuinely in love with _him. Ryou thought. _Why can't he see?_

The brown-eyed beauty closed her eyes and lost herself in a day dream. One where, just as Bakura and Malika were about to say their vows, she sprang out with her confession. One where Bakura left Malika at the alter and chose her instead.

_Fond gestures are exchanged  
And the organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march  
And I am hiding in the curtains  
It seems that I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be_

The sound of an organ playing snapped her back to reality. It was a dreadful song too. It reminded her of the music they played at her mother and little sister's funeral. No, there was no way _that_ memory would get to be replayed.

Instead, she remembered what the song meant: the bride was coming. And she was in the way and the pillar wouldn't keep her hidden forever. Panicked, she looked for a place to hide.

A little voice in her head screamed, _There, the curtains!_

So Ryou dove behind them and peered out. Good. No one seemed to have seen her. Wait…

Oh no.

Marik saw her! But, he smirked, as if he were _glad_ she were there. Was he? Maybe he was hoping that someone would stop the wedding and stop Malika from marrying Bakura. Well, it was certainly no secret he was in love with Malika. Or that he thought his best friend marrying – or dating – his love interest was any good.

_She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen  
But I know you wish it was me, you wish it was me  
Don't you?_

The rustling of fabric alerted her to the arrival of the soon-to-be wife of Bakura. Ryou peeked out and her jaw dropped. The blonde was _actually_ wearing a 'cupcake' dress! But, Ryou had to admit, it _did _look rather nice on her. The top half was the same lavender color as her eyes and the bottom was white with a glimmer of gold if the light hit it right. Combined with the bouquet of white and pink roses and Malika's grace, she looked like she'd just come from a fairytale.

Taking her eyes off the Egyptian, Ryou looked at the white-haired man at the altar. He didn't look all too happy about Malika's appearance. Then, his eyes flicked over the curtains she was hiding behind. Her heart skipped a beat. Did he…did he know she was there?

Impossible.

But, still, his eyes _did _widen a fraction and his lips twitched upward a bit. Or was she imagining that?

_Don't say yes, run away now  
I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the backdoor  
Don't wait or say a single vow  
You need to hear me out and they said 'Speak now'_

_So don't say yes, run away now  
I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the backdoor  
Don't wait or say a single vow  
You need to hear me out and they said 'Speak now'_

Bakura's eyes flitted back to his bride. His happiness seemed to vanish. Did he really not want to marry Malika?

_If you don't want to, then don't. _Ryou silently pleaded. _She belongs with Marik and you belong with me_ (2)!

Malika was at the altar now. Ryou tore her eyes away from the sight. She just couldn't watch her love be married off to another woman. She just couldn't! Suddenly, she remembered words her mother spoke to her so many years ago.

_"Don't worry, Ryou, one day your prince will come and sweep you off your feet."_

_But how can he if he's already taken?_ _Oh, Mom, please help me!_

_I hear the preacher say 'speak now or forever hold your peace'  
There's the silence, there's my last chance  
I stand up with shaking hands, all eyes on me  
Horrified looks from everyone in the room  
But I'm only looking at you_

"If there's any who wish these two to not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." the preacher announced.

Ryou's eyes flew open. She hadn't heard a word before that sentence. It had come so soon?

_This is your last chance, Ryou, don't blow it!_ the voice from earlier shouted at her.

The whitenette clenched her shaking hands. It was now or never! Or she would die old and alone, heart heavy with regret. No! She wouldn't-_couldn't_ let Bakura slip away!

Taking every ounce of courage, she popped out of hiding. "I object!"

There were astonished gasps from the seated people.

"_Ryou?"_ Bakura and Malika gasped in unison.

At all the looks she was getting, the pale female froze. Once she caught sight of Bakura's dark chocolate eyes, she felt calmer.

"I know I have no right to interrupt, seeing as I don't even have an invitation, but I just had to come." Ryou steeled herself for someone to yell at her, but no one did. "I know I've never been spontaneous or impulsive, but I couldn't ignore my feelings."

By now, she'd walked right up to the altar. Everyone's mouths hung open. Except for Marik's, as he'd seen her.

Ryou continued with her speech. "Malika, I know I encouraged you to go after Bakura when you told me you liked him, but the truth is…the truth is this: I've always been in love with Bakura. I didn't say anything because…I just wanted to see my best friend happy."

With that, she let out a shaky breath and lowered her head. She was expecting rejection from Bakura. Or a slap from Malika. But, the room stayed unnervingly silent.

"Dude, say something!" Marik called up to his best friend.

That snapped Bakura out of whatever trance he'd been in. And he smirked. "Something."

There were a few small laughs and a few groans at the lame joke.

"Ryou, come on, look up.'' Malika said gently.

And the other woman did. There were tears in her eyes. "Y-You mean you're n-not mad?"

The blonde shook her head. "Heck, I knew this was coming."

That earned confused looks from everyone, Ryou included.

"I knew you were too much of a romantic to let us go through with this." Malika explained. "And if you didn't, I'm sure Marik over there would've."

"Whoa, whoa." Joey spoke up. "Lemme get this straight, ya' were riskin' all _this_" – she waved a hand at the wedding setup - "on whether or not Ry could actually say what she just did."

"That's right!" Malika replied, grinning.

The blonde tomboy gaped for a moment then burst out laughing. "That's _so _like ya'!"

Joey's outburst sent Yugi into a fit of giggles. "It's just like a fairytale!"

Soon everybody was muttering something about 'crazy blonde Egyptians', 'cliché endings', or 'odd couples'. That is, everybody, but the platinum blonde, and the whitenettes.

"Well, you can have Bakura, Ry, I don't want him anymore." Malika decreed flippantly.

"Just how long have you been thinking this, Malika?" her friend queried.

"Oh, just for the past few days." The tan female grinned even more.

Ryou shook her head. _That's Malika for you, always thinking things will work out how she wants. _She suddenly remembered that Bakura hadn't said anything other than 'something'. She looked at him again. "Bakura?"

_And you say let's run away now  
I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the backdoor  
Baby I didn't say my vows, so glad you were around  
When they said 'Speak now'_

Bakura had apparently fallen back into his daze.

Malika snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Hey, Bakura." No response. "Yo, fluffy bat-head!"

The brown-eyed man glared at her. "Don't _ever_ call me that again."

"Look, he's come back from his vacation in La La Land." Malika mock-cheered.

"What did you want anyway?"

"A girl just stopped your wedding and told you that she loves you then you go and forget. Tch! Typical boy."

Bakura just then seemed to remember the presence of Ryou. He looked at her. He, for once in his life, seemed to be at a loss for words. Ryou shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Then, of all the things he could have said her, he chose: "I knew I smelled vanilla (3)." And then he kissed her.

1: Malika = "king", a male name. Malika = "queen"; a female name. See why I changed it?

2: Ha! I slipped in another Taylor song title! ...I'm lame.

3: For some reason, I just imagine Ryou smelling like vanilla.

Sissy: …That was a piece of crap.

Ali: Once again, your lack of self-confidence amazes me. It's not like it was _horrible_.

Sissy: I guess. *shrugs and looks at readers* Review if you feel like it.


End file.
